Today's lawns are taken very seriously. They are more than just a play area for the children, a place for dogs to run on and a soft spot to settle under a tree on a hot summer's day. Admired by ourselves, neighbors and friends, competition often runs from yard to yard. We all want our yards to look as green as a storybook picture.
The question most often asked is, "Should you water lightly and frequently or should you water and less frequently?" Those who believe the at watering every day is good are only fooling themselves. As time goes on you will see these things happening to your lawn:
Mowing becomes difficult. The wetness keeps the grasses bearing down so it won't go into the mower's bag easily. Due to the saturation, the mower's wheels will make ruts that flatten out and won't heal, ultimately resulting in dead areas. Your lawn becomes vulnerable to pests and disease therefore needing more applications for disease, pest and weed control. The snail population increases. Mushrooms thrive. The fertilizers leach out. A muddy lawn is not an ideal environment for the kids to play on. They will compact the soil and make a muddy mess. Overwatering destroys all the deep roots. A shallow root system needs that daily water to survive so you'll end up spending a fortune to water it. Overwatering saturates the lawn and robs the soil of its oxygen. Oxygen is the one element that all healthy plants need to sustain themselves.
On the other hand, managing your water allows a longer dryout period between irrigations and encourages the development of the deeper roots that go looking for the water and this helps the grasses survive throughout the hot summer months. Your lawn will be easier to mow and edge. Pest and disease problems will be down to a minimum.It will look better and give you years of enjoyment. Don't just take my word for this, look at your lawn. If you're still watering daily, look for the signs that I've talked about.
There are other things you must do if you want your lawn to survive in today's world. Aerate in the spring. Maintain a year round fertilization program. Control pests and disease as they enter the turf area. Keep your lawn mower blade sharpened. Mow your lawn to the proper height according to the season. Make sure to change your cutting patterns each time you mow.
Water management not only saves water, but also helps to maintain a healthy environment in the landscape and lawns and in the home. We, at The Happy Gardener understand the importance of living in a beautiful environment
